Unusual Chinese Unglazed Earthenware Soldier. Possibly Song Dynasty, (960-1279). Dressed in a long robe, his unusual headdress with three pendant flaps, he holds a sword before his left shoulder. (repairs, most unusual facial features, and surface.)

Size: 8 x 2 1/2 x 1 3/4 in.

#1953 #19

The Song Dynasty that ruled China from 960 to 1279 was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song, who usurped the throne of the Later Zhou Dynasty and went on to conquer the rest of the Ten Kingdoms, ending the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. The Song often came into conflict with the contemporaneous Liao, Western Xia and Jin Dynasties in northern China. After retreating to southern China following attacks by the Jin Dynasty, the Song were eventually conquered by the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. Technology, science, philosophy, mathematics, and engineering flourished during the Song era, and the Dynasty was the first in world history to issue banknotes or true paper money and the first Chinese government to establish a permanent standing navy. The first surviving records of the chemical formula for gunpowder, as well as the invention of gunpowder weapons, comes from this period. Innovations in rice cultivation led China’s population to double in just a century. The spread of literature and knowledge was enhanced by the rapid expansion of woodblock printing and the 11th Century invention of movable type printing. Although there were some advancements in landscape painting, the most prominent development of the Chinese art world was the formation of artisans guilds to protect their livelihood and reputations, as well as the landed gentry developing an obsession with art collecting. Many pieces from earlier dynasties survived to the present because of their inclusion in private collections during this time.